Taking time off for The Change is an insult to women
HAving seized the reins of the Labour Party, thanks to a wave of naive millennials too young to remember what real communism looks like, Jeremy corbyn last week turned his attention to winning over traditional tory voters, aka middle-aged women.
how else do you explain the announcement by Dawn Butler, shadow Women & equalities Secretary, that, if elected, Labour will pursue a policy of introducing menopause leave and flexible working hours for women my age?
Apparently this will make it easier for us to talk about the issue, and reduce workplace stigma around it. i’ve never heard such patronising nonsense.
First, most women my age have no problem whatsoever talking about the menopause. they do so in their droves, on radio phoneins, in chat rooms, on tv.
there’s barely a female celebrity aged 45 and over who hasn’t spoken about her experience, from carol vorderman and Davina Mccall to Jennifer Saunders and Lorraine Kelly.
i myself have written extensively about it in this newspaper — some might argue ad nauseam. if Ms Butler thinks it’s still a taboo issue, perhaps she should cancel her subscription to Socialist Worker and buy the Mail instead. SeconD,
the idea that singling out a group of people for special treatment will ‘reduce workplace stigma’ is absurd. nothing creates an atmosphere of fear and loathing in the workplace quite like the notion that some employees are not pulling their weight.
After all, men, too, suffer from debilitating middle-aged symptoms — losing the hair on their heads, acquiring it in other places such as ears and noses, becoming obsessed with fast cars and motorbikes, and so on. how long before they too start clamouring for time off to alleviate these conditions?
Joking aside, not only would such a policy be a headache for employers and open to all kinds of abuse, it’s also inherently sexist.
it takes us back to victorian times when women were dismissed as the weaker sex, unable to participate normally in everyday life on account of their hormones.
it implies that, because of our fundamental biology, we are unequal to men and incapable of carrying out tasks without concessions being made on our behalf.
next thing you know, Labour will be saying we need time off because our brains are too small.
Don’t get me wrong: the menopause is a challenge. Many women suffer a whole raft of unpleasant symptoms — i know, i’ve been there. But the idea that these somehow render us invalids, unfit for work and in need of special pleading, is beyond infuriating.
in fact, if anything, they make us tougher by the very fact of having to overcome them. in the same way that parents are often excellent employees because they are reliable, less selfish and good at pulling together as a team, menopausal and post- menopausal women have a determination and wisdom that others lack.
employers shouldn’t be getting less of us, but more.
Look around you. the world is full of strong, independent, beautiful women managing just fine without this patronising little policy. So thanks, Ms Butler, but no thanks. We’ll take the hRt instead, and battle on.